Roses
by Snow Tempest
Summary: A series of one-shots for the pairing Bracketh. Bracken / Seth. REQUESTS ARE OPEN.
1. Sweet Roses

"Where are we even going?" Seth laughed as Bracken tugged him down the sidewalk in NYC. Seth pulled his scarf up over his nose with one hand as his breath puffed, visible in the crisp winter air.

"Relax, I remember seeing this place on a TV show from when I was imprisoned at Living Mirage. It's supposed to be famous for its gelato." Bracken explained, looking behind his shoulder at Seth, shooting a smile at the Shadow-Charmer.

"I didn't think anything about your time in that place could be of interest to you now."

"You were at one point imprisoned in Living Mirage,"

Bracken's statement made something catch in the back of Seth's throat. Seth's shoulders slumped as he accepted his statement had come back and punched him in the gut. He opened his mouth to say that he was wrong, his scarf fell down off his face.

"But I have a lot of interest in _you_."

Seth looked up just as Bracken kissed his nose and smiled jubilantly. Seth's breathing quickened and he covered his nose back up again with the red scarf to hide his growing smile. Bracken squeezed Seth's hand and lead him to the shop.

Inside it was warmer, and almost instantly Seth's nose began to run. He quickly grabbed his bag and dug through his pack to find his emergency kit: winter edition. In it were extra gloves, the leviathan, firecrackers, a key chain that Bracken had gotten him that he was too embarrassed to put on his backpack, a small packet of tissues, and a few other odds and ends.

Seth grabbed the tissue pack and peeled off the sticker, ripping a tissue from the plastic a blowing his dripping nose into it. Bracken eyed Seth curiously out of the corner of his eye as he lined up.

Seth caught his eye as he looked up and pulled another tissue out of the package and offered it to his boyfriend.

"Tissue?" He asked. Bracken took it and looked at it curiously.

"Do I need one?"

"I don't know, _do_ you? I mean it's cold outside, and it's warm in here. Isn't your nose running?" Seth eyed Bracken inquiringly as Bracken shook his head.

"It isn't. Strange, I've never had that problem before."

"Next!" The person at the counter called, Bracken and Seth stepped up to the front.

Seth looked down at the glass case and his mind went blank as he saw the many different colors in the rectangle tubs.

"Ice cream?" He asked dubiously, turning to Bracken.

"Well, technically, it's gelato."

"But it's the middle of January!" Seth protested. He rubbed is hands together to get rid of the lingering numbness in his fingertips.

"You don't have to get gelato; they have espressos and coffee too." Bracken said, pulling out his wallet from his coat pocket.

"Just order whatever you want, I'm going to go sit." Seth sighed, going off to grab a spot by the window in the corner of the shop.

Usually this place would have been really busy, but since it was winter the shop was virtually empty except the zombie-like, part-time employees, the cheerful Italian manager, an old man, and a few teenagers sipping on coffee and hogging the free Wi-Fi.

Bracken came over to the table a few minutes later with two coffees and sat down opposite Seth, pushing one of the cups over to him. Seth picked up the cup and let the warmth sooth his cold fingers. He was about to bring the cup to his lips when Bracken put a hand over the top of it and pushed it back down to the table.

"Wait a bit." He said softly.

"Is it too hot?" Seth asked, letting go of the cup and tapping on the wood table with his hands.

"Maybe, but I want you to try something else first, the coffee might ruin the flavor."

Seth nodded in understanding as Bracken stood up to go back over to the counter to receive the cones of gelato. Bracken came back to the table and sat opposite him again, handing Seth one of the cones.

Seth looked down at the frozen treat in his hand and did a double-take; the chocolate gelato was made in the shape of a rose.

Bracken grinned at him when he looked up and showed him his own vanilla gelato rose.

"See? Isn't it cool?"

Seth smiled as he saw Bracken's face light up in happiness. Since the opening of Zzyx, Bracken spent most of his time rebuilding the Fairy Kingdom or helping Agad hide the artifacts. Seth almost never saw his boyfriend even though they were dating.

"Yeah, it's super cool." Seth replied, taking a chilling bite out of the gelato, almost instantly getting a brain-freeze.

Seth squeezed his eyes shut as the worst of the brain-freeze passed, and when he opened his eyes Bracken had put a hand to his face.

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, but your hand is cold." Seth laughed as he batted Bracken's hand away.

It slowly came down to the table as Bracken's face fell, his expression glum.

Seth felt a pang of guilt for a moment before reaching out with his left, unoccupied hand, and put it over Bracken's.

"I'll help you warm them up, then."

Bracken's smile instantly came back at full force as he entwined his fingers with Seth's.

They sat there in comfortable silence eating their gelato as their coffee cooled, occasionally pointing out something outside the window or making the other laugh. When the other wasn't looking they would steal glances at each other and smile secretly to themselves. They had only been dating for four months, but it felt longer because of the time they weren't together.

As they exited the shop, coffee in hand, now comfortably warm and not screaming hot, hand in hand, just right, Seth asked,

"How much time will you take off work this time?" His nose began to itch, was it going to run again? He unclasped his hand from Bracken's to grab the tissue packet from his pocket.

"A week or so." Bracken said, sipping his coffee and taking in the suburban scenery and the ads flashing on the sides of buildings as they walked.

Seth put away the packet and tried to take up Bracken's hand again, but e had slipped his hand into his pocket. Seth sent Bracken a frustrated glare that didn't capture the Unicorn's attention as it was directed at an antique shop window.

Seth followed his gaze and realized Bracken was looking at a collection of antique rings. Bracken nearly put his hand on the glass but he withdrew it hesitantly.

His eyes met Seth's and Bracken looked down. Seth frowned and nudged Bracken's arm with his elbow.

"What is it?" He prompted. Bracken looked as though he wanted to say something, but then stopped and looked towards the window once more.

"Have you…" He started, his voice thin. "Ever thought of what might happen later? With us, I mean."

Seth felt the color drain from his face and the lukewarm cup of coffee in his hands slip a little.

"You aren't going to break up with me, are you?!"

His heartbeat quickened and his breath caught, it couldn't be…

Bracken whipped around and clasped a hand on Seth's shoulder ardently, "I would never!" He looked down again, "I-I was just wondering…" He took his hand off Seth's shoulder and brought it to the back of his neck, rubbing it as he looked up at the sky nervously.

He breathed out shakily laughed bitterly, "Even when you live as long as I do it doesn't get any easier." He looked back down at Seth, his eyes more gentle and a slight blush on his unblemished cheeks. "When you are older, do you think we could… be together forever, and live together in the Fairy Kingdom?"

Seth's jaw fell as his mind scrambled for reason, was this… kind of like a proposal?!

Bracken seemed to notice Seth's expression and in response blurted, "Or we could live on Earth!... If you wanted." He added sheepishly.

Seconds later Seth's arms were wrapped around Bracken's neck and the remains of his coffee spilled out of the top and soaked into the back of Bracken's coat.

"Yes, you magical horse! I love you!" Seth laughed.

Neither of them noticed that as Bracken wrapped his arms around his boyfriend's waist and lifted him up a little.

Then they kissed, the taste of vanilla and coffee made Seth smile against Bracken's lips as the feeling of blissful warmth spread.

They pulled apart and smiled at each other until Bracken broke the silence by whispering,

"I think you spilled your coffee on the back of my coat, I feel an icy chill in the center of my back."

They held each other's gaze a second more before Seth pushed Bracken, who was laughing and gasping, away. Seth glared and stormed off down the sidewalk.

"Hey, it wasn't that bad, was it?" Bracken asked innocently wiping tears out of his eyes, casing after Seth.

"You mood-killer!" Seth grumbled, but allowed Bracken to put an arm around his shoulders.

"Well, it's true!" Bracken mock-protested, leisurely tossing his cup into a trash can and kissing the top of Seth's head.

"Just shut up." Seth laughed and leaned his head on Bracken's shoulder as they crossed the crosswalk when the light turned red.


	2. Keychain

**Thank you for your request, Magic Witch! Your wish is heard, loud and clear! So, I give you… Chapter 2 of Roses! **

**And if you have read Ageless and/or Loveless you may have been disappointed by the ending. But never fear! This is the purpose of this One-Shot series; to sate your (the reader's) need for Bracketh as I, (the writer), recuperate from being an evil manic who enjoys dragging characters though Hell. (It's exhausting, I know!) **

**Stay tuned! And feel free to make any requests, if it's lemon; know that the rating will change and (as this is not my felid of expertise, I will recruit a friend to assist me in writing such a chapter.)**

**Well, see ya! And have a nice day!**

* * *

Seth was sorting through his emergency kit, restocking it and dumping out the garbage. His fingers brushed against the keychain Bracken had given him two months back. Seth took it out and immediately regretted it.

Bracken looked up from his book where he was sitting on the couch at the sound of stomping footsteps coming down the stairs. He shut his book and put it down on the coffee table as Seth finished making his entrance.

"Why?!" Seth cried, waving his hand in Bracken's face.

"Complete the question, please." Bracken calmly stated, taking Seth's wrists in his hands and gently rubbing the skin with his thumbs, calming Seth down a little.

"This… THING!" Seth growled, thrusting the keychain directly into Bracken's line of sight.

The adorable stuffed unicorn with the rainbow main looked innocently up at Bracken with glittery, black eyes of cute. Bracken sighed and picked it up, regarding it curiously before handing it back to Seth.

"It looks fine to me."

Seth wrinkled his nose at the miniature offending creature in his hand, "That's the thing. You like all these cutesy, sparkly merchandise" He crushed the plush toy in his hand and a sickly sweet warbling noise came out of its stuffing.

"Plus, it SINGS." He seethed, "I HATE singing."

"And you can't seem to understand! I like swords!" He mimed swiping an enemy, his voice rising.

"I like explosions! Adventure!" He tossed the stuffed unicorn keychain into the air.

"All I want is a little excitement! Not-"

Seth looked over at where the thing had fallen on the floor.

He sighed and turned back to Bracken, "Look, I'm sorry. Forget it." He turned away and began trudging towards the stars but Bracken caught his arm.

"I'm sorry too." Bracken took a deep breath and his hand moved down to clasp Seth's, "I think we need to talk."

"About what?" Seth asked coldly.

"About _Us_, Seth." Bracken asserted strongly. "I need to know if there's something I've been doing wrong, something I'm not doing right. Please, Seth, I want to be with you and I want to know more about you. And if this is one of those 'bumps' in our relationship, I want to learn something from it! So, Seth, help me."

His passionate words struck Seth's heart and squeezed it just as hard as Bracken was holding his hand; it was almost as if the Unicorn was refusing to let him go no matter what. Even if Seth tried to take his hand away and leave Bracken without an answer, he knew he couldn't; Bracken wouldn't let him, he wouldn't let himself.

Seth turned around and smiled shakily, "Right, let's talk."

They moved to the couch and sat down without exchanging another word, hands still clasped.

"So what is it?" Bracken asked, breaking the silence, looking sideways at Seth.

Seth sighed and rubbed a hand against his face, "Nothing, I was just… letting out some frustration."

"About what?" Bracken entwined Seth's fingers with his, causing Seth to look down at their hands distractedly.

"Just…things, you know. How you're always gone, you have adventures nearly every day during your work, I have to stay behind and be home-schooled, you are so _perfect_ in every way; you didn't even mind when I switched the toothpaste with glue or the time when I thought it would be funny if I put a polymorph potion in your drink that turned you into a newt!"

Bracken looked down at himself then back up and Seth, he shrugged. "I got better."

Seth groaned in frustration, yanking on a clump of his hair, "That's not the point!"

"Then what is the point?" Bracken said, smiling knowingly, "Your mind is running in circles."

"GAH!" Seth choked and grabbed one of the couch pillows behind him and swung it, hitting Bracken's face with a muffled thump. "I told you not to read my mind!"

"I can't help it," Bracken raised their adjoined hands, "We _are_ holding hands."

"I hate you." Seth grumbled, letting his head fall onto Bracken's shoulder.

"I love you too, Seth."

"That's not what I said!" Seth sat directly upright in indignantly.

"But your mind was saying it!" Bracken sing-songed playfully.

"You-!"

Seth unclasped their hands and battered Bracken with the pillow ruthlessly. Bracken laughed as his face was whacked around,

"And for the record, I'm not perfect."

Seth kneed him in the stomach, "I don't believe you. And for the record, next time you visit… beware. There might be a few… nasty surprises waiting for you."

"I'll look forward to them."

"No you won't." Seth grinned.


End file.
